ST. LOUIS - Jordair Jett and Cody Ellis scored 17 points apiece and Saint Louis held on to beat North Texas 67-63 Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
Jett's basket with 35 seconds remaining broke a 61-61 tie, and Ellis made four free throws to keep the Billikens (5-3) in control and give them back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
The Billikens went on a 17-2 run midway through the first half to go up by 10, 24-14, with 11:28 remaining in the opening half.
However, North Texas went on a 15-5 spurt to close the first half and led 36-34 at the break.
In the second half, Mike McCall Jr. and Dwayne Evans opened up with baskets to go on a 5-0 run. The Bills remained in the lead until the 5:17 mark, but Jett answered with a bucket to put the Bills back up by two.
Cory Remekun broke open a 59-59 game with a basket at 1:51. North Texas tied the score again at 61-all before Jett's basket. Ellis hit 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to give the Bills the four-point win.
Jett's 17 points were a season high, three shy of his career high of 19 set last year against Villanova. Remekun recorded three blocks to move past Matt Baniak (1998-2002) on the all-time blocks list. Remekun now has 88 for his career.
The Billikens held North Texas leading scorer Tony Mitchell to zero points in the second half.
Saint Louis has won both of its games since the death of coach Rick Majerus, who stepped down before this season and was replaced by interim head coach Jim Crews. Majerus died Saturday in Los Angeles.
The team will attend the SLU memorial service for Majerus on Friday, Dec. 7, before traveling to Milwaukee to attend Majerus' funeral.
SLU is next in action Saturday, Dec. 15, against UT Martin at Chaifetz Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.
